The
Edouard Saouma awardThe "Edouard Saouma Award"
was established in 1993 by the FAO conference, for a national or regional
institution which has implemented with particular efficiency a project
funded by the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP). Particular emphasis
is given to the nature, the sustainability and the replicability of the
achievements and the catalytic effects generated compared to the inputs
provided by the Technical Cooperation Programme. The Awards for the achievements
during the each biennium will be presented by the Director-General during
a special ceremony, at the beginning of the Session of the FAO Conference,
in November.

Project
summary:The award winning project
(TCP\VIE\6621 "Improving the wellbeing of poor farmers by developing milk
production from local resources"), focused on goat milk production, collection,
processing and marketing of cheese and was set up in collaboration with
the Goat and Rabbit Research Centre, Son Tay, Hatay Province, Vietnam.
Project activities were towards responding rapidly to market demands and
opportunities in the form of goat cheese. This approach enabled the provision
of a high rate of return to farmers for their milk and has resulted in
the successful and sustainable operation of the enterprises started by
the project.

The project approach was
based on simple low-cost technologies and on training. It is worth noting
that the main beneficiaries of the project were small-scale women farmers
who not only carried out much of the work at farm level but who were and
continue to be the processors and marketers of their high quality cheese.
The project also attracted significant attention from other donors and
the approach was replicated by IFAD and GTZ among others in the region.

The milk is collected daily
by a centre financed by the beneficiary community. The centre produces
goat cheese which is sold here in Hanoi in several shops and restaurants.
Other donors (UK, GVC Italian NGO) have funded the replication of this
project in a larger area (UK) or in other locations (GVC). Several national
and international institutions (NGOs, Embassies, line Ministries) are visiting
the project site to know about this experience. Most of the success is
due to the dynamism of the national institution involved (Goat and Rabbit
Research Centre) which has been able to optimise the TCP resources.

IMPROVING THE WELL-BEING
OF POOR FARMERS BY DEVELOPING MILK PRODUCTION FROM LOCAL RESOURCES

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project backgroundThere is no tradition in
Viet Nam for the production or consumption of fresh milk. Although
Viet Nam has over 3 million cows, mainly of the Chinese Yellow breed, these
are not milked, being used mainly for draught and breeding. Some
specialist state farms with Holstein cattle were set up in the 1980s with
assistance from the Cuban Government, but most of these have failed.
An FAO-executed UNDP project VIE/80/013 was also active in Moc Chau state
farm until the early 1990s and towards the end of the project cattle were
dispersed from the state farm to smallholders. There has been some
private-sector development of milk production with Holstein cattle and
their crosses in the peri-urban areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities,
but low prices for the milk and a shortage of land on which to grow green
forage have constrained expansion. Disposal of waste is a problem
for such units and it can be expected that they will be further constrained
by environmental pressures. A government scheme to improve local
cattle has supported the introduction of Sindhi bulls and semen at village
level with the eventual aim of upgrading some of these crossbreds with
Holstein cattle for milk production. There are almost 3 million buffaloes,
almost all of the Swamp type. Some Murrah buffaloes were imported
from India for milk and there are some crosses between Murrah and Swamp
types. However, the number of Murrah buffaloes and their crosses
is insignificant and few are milked. In general, the impact on national
milk production of these initiatives is insignificant.

The total goat population
is 0.5 million, most of which are kept for meat. However, an improved
local dual-purpose breed - Bach Thao - is having an increasing impact at
farmer level for meat and milk production. The population of these
animals is estimated to be approximately 15 000. The main feed resources
for livestock in Viet Nam are the residues (straw) and by-products from
the rice crop (rice bran). Rice bran is the basic feed for pigs and
poultry, while straw is the main feed for cattle and buffaloes, especially
in the lowlands where the only pasture available is on the bunds between
rice paddies, on crop stubbles and on the small areas not suitable for
crop production. There is grazing in the mountainous regions and
in the forests but this is not exploited in an organized way and there
is an increasing risk of grazing systems entering into conflict with the
need to conserve the environment. Lack of appropriate feed resources
is another barrier to the development of milk production. On the demand side,
the market is expanding. Consumption of milk products is increasing
and condensed milk, yoghurt and small cartons (250 ml) of long-life milk,
all reconstituted from imported powder, can be found on sale in most towns
and villages. According to FAO statistics, imports of milk products
have increased from $US 2.5 million to $US 50 million during the last decade.
Rapid economic development in the country and the increasing number of
tourists will lead to an increased demand for milk and meat products.
It is highly desirable that the general farming population have the opportunity
to benefit from this expanding market. This will require the development
of a production system adapted to the resources available on small-scale
farms and a system of milk collection, storage and processing at village
level. In response to the
above situation and the urgent need to rapidly develop local milk production
and reduce the cost of imports, the Government requested FAO assistance
to promote milk production from local cattle and goats and the village-level
processing of milk products.

1.2 Outline of official
arrangementsThe Technical Cooperation
Programme project TCP/VIE/6613, “Improving the Well-being of Poor Farmers
by Developing Milk Production from Local Resources”, was approved on 16
August 1996 with a budget of $US 221 000 and a scheduled duration of 18
months. The Goat and Rabbit Research Centre of the National Institute
of Animal Husbandry was designated the counterpart agency responsible for
project execution. The activities of the project began in October
1996 and ended in September 1998. FAO provided milk processing equipment,
motorcycles and computers to facilitate coordination and communication,
plastic for low-cost biodigesters, seed, plant material and improved goats,
as well as training workshops and consultants in livestock production and
milk processing.

1.3 Project objectivesThe original objectives
were to provide assistance in training and implementing milk production
systems based on the local cattle and on the Bach Thao goats fed on local
resources to produce milk, beef, fuel and fertilizer at smallholder-farmer
level. This production system was to be associated with appropriate
milk processing technologies and would be located in five different agro-economical
zones in the country.

Following visits in October
1996 by the livestock consultant, the milk processing consultant and the
FAO senior adviser for milk production, it was agreed that the impact of
the project would be improved by concentrating activities on goat production
and on processing the goat milk into high-quality cheese. This change
of emphasis took place for the following three reasons. The recent
agreement between Nestlé and Vinamilk (the state company engaged
in milk processing and the sale of milk products) had led to a more aggressive
marketing and procurement strategy for milk which was not foreseen when
the project was formulated. The market for fresh cow’s milk had become
less attractive as a result of the Vinamilk factory selling its milk products
at relatively low prices, owing to the use of cheap imported milk powder
and the low prices paid to farmers for fresh milk.

Surveys of supermarkets in
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, catering especially to foreigners, showed that
the market for cheese, especially goat cheese, was very attractive and
that the prices for goat cheese were high. The collection, processing and
marketing of goat milk in the form of cheese is an activity which is appropriate
for small-scale farmers in mountainous regions. The technology for
processing goat milk into cheese is relatively simple and the equipment
required can be obtained locally. The transport to, and sale in,
Hanoi and other major cities of a high-value concentrated product such
as goat cheese, also presents no major difficulties. At a price for
the local product that would be competitive with the imported product the
margin makes it economically feasible to pay farmers at least $US 0.42
per litre for fresh goat milk. The whey, which is the by-product
from cheese production, is an excellent feed for pigs. There would
also be weaned kids for sale for breeding and meat production.

1.4 Project implementationThe project was implemented
by the National Coordinator (Director of the Goat and Rabbit Research Centre)
under the guidance of two international consultants (livestock production
and milk processing). There were five sites of activities: Son Tay
town and Bavi district in Hatay province and the provinces of Thai Nguyen,
Tuyen Quang and Hue. Milk collection and cheese-processing facilities
were established at the Goat and Rabbit Research Centre, serving Son Tay
town and Bavi district, and in the principal cities in the provinces of
Thai Nguyen and Tuyen Quang. A total of 165 improved goats was distributed
to farmers in each site under an agreement that, after two years, the beneficiaries
would hand on to neighbours the equivalent numbers of goats received from
the project.

2. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

2.1 Providing improved
goats to farmersThere was a major increase
in the population of improved goats at all project sites. No major
problems were encountered and the recipient farmers rapidly acquired the
skills needed to manage and feed the goats on a full or semi-confinement
basis. Most families were able to comply with project obligations
to hand on to neighbours the equivalent in numbers and weight of the goats
received.

2.2 Use of local
feed resourcesA major activity of the
project was to promote the use of tree and shrub foliage as the staple
diet of goats in confinement. The Jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
is found in the home gardens of farm families throughout Viet Nam.
Planted originally for the consumption and sale of the fruit, it was demonstrated
that the leaves provided excellent feed for goats. This led to an
alternative use for the tree in areas remote from markets or in situations
where the sale price of the fruit did not compensate for the labour of
transporting it to the market. The multipurpose tree Trichanthera
gigantea, introduced from the coffee-growing mountain regions of Colombia
in South America, and the shrub Flemengia macrophylla, introduced from
the Philippines, both adapted well to the infertile acid soils that characterize
the hilly and mountain areas of North and Central Viet Nam. Farmers
were pleased with the productivity and ease of management of these trees
and their good acceptability by goats in confinement.

2.3 Milk production,
collection and processingSimple equipment for pasteurizing
milk and processing it into cheese was installed in all five project sites.
In Hatay province 15 000 kg of milk were processed into 1 500 kg of cheese
during the 16 months following the installation of the first unit in the
Goat and Rabbit Research Centre. In the mountain provinces of Tuyen
Quang and Thai Nguyen the quantities of cheese were 100 kg and 120 kg in
shorter periods of 5 and 8 months, respectively. The technology was
simple, employing a proprietary lactobacilli starter and rennet as coagulant,
with prior pasteurization of the milk. The cheese produced was sold
in Hanoi in restaurants and specialized food shops.

2.4 Installation
of low-cost plastic biodigestersThe technology of low-cost
plastic biodigesters was developed originally in Colombia and has reduced
the cost of a family size biodigester to less than $US 50. A total
of 116 units was installed and these were well received by participants
in the project.

2.5 Electronic mail
linkagesThe priority given by the
Government to the upgrading of telecommunication networks was a vital component
in ensuring the effective use of the computers and modems installed in
all five participating centres. In the first year of the project
use was made of the e-mail linkages to the Internet established by the
regional FAO-supported project (GCP/RAS/143/JPN), which used a UUCP protocol
over a standard telephone line from a server in the Oxford Forestry Institute
in the United Kingdom. Since January 1998 there has been direct dial-up
access to the Internet through service providers in major cities in Viet
Nam. The ease and immediacy of communication provided by e-mail helped
considerably in the process of coordinating the project activities, especially
regarding contacts with the international consultants.

2.6 Training and
demonstrationsMore than 600 farmers and
extensionists participated in the training courses held in all five cooperating
centres. The National Coordinator, staff of the Goat and Rabbit Research
Centre and the international consultants shared in the task of imparting
knowledge on: the management and feeding of dual-purpose goats; clean milk
production; the collection, pasteurization and processing of milk into
cheese; the planting of multipurpose trees and shrubs and harvesting of
the foliage; the installation and maintenance of low-cost plastic biodigesters;
and the use of e-mail.

2.7 ImpactThe number of people visiting
the project sites increased from 684 (28 delegations) in 1996 to 955 (54
delegations) in the first 8 months of 1998. Other institutions involved
in poverty alleviation activities in rural areas began to support the introduction
of goats as a means of income generation from locally available inputs.
The project technology was introduced into remote villages in Quang Binh
province as a component of the activities of an Integrated Feed Security
project financed by German Technical Cooperation. An International
Fund for Agricultural Development-funded poverty alleviation project in
tribal areas of India (Bihar/Madhya Pradesh Tribal Community Development
Project) will introduce the technology as a major feature of activities
destined to increase income from livestock.

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 Extension of
the programmeThe main needs are to expand
the population of improved (dual-purpose) goats and to strengthen market
opportunities for goat milk products. There is an unsatisfied demand from
farmers, especially those in mountain areas, for improved goats of the
Bach Thao breed. Investment needs are relatively small as turnover
is rapid, owing to the short generation interval, and repayment can be
made on an in-kind basis.

3.2 Goat milk marketingIt is recommended that an
advertising campaign be conducted to highlight the nutritional and health-securing
qualities of goat milk and its products, which are produced in rural areas
with no chemical inputs and thus qualify for the green “organic” label.
Diversification into long-life packs of fresh milk and yoghurt will increase
market opportunities.

3.3 Poverty alleviationThe government programme
for poverty alleviation is an obvious vehicle for the above initiatives.
It must be continually stressed that the promotion of small livestock able
to make maximum use of local resources is a more appropriate strategy for
addressing problems of rural poverty than schemes based on cattle improvement,
which have extended payback periods and entail greater biological and economic
risks.

The concept of “small is
beautiful” is especially relevant to goat production, as can be seen in
France and other Mediterranean countries, where small-scale goat production
organized in farmer-controlled cooperatives has proved to be sustainable
(in contrast to cow milk production, which has become large-scale with
an attendant loss of image, owing to soil and water pollution and concerns
for animal welfare). These aspects strengthen the cases for the promotion
of goat production as an important element in the campaign to assist less-advantaged
rural dwellers, especially those in mountain areas.

3.4 Goats and the
environmentThe image of the goat as
the enemy of natural ecosystems is based on experiences with free-grazing
systems which are not integrated into the farming system. Grazing
systems are not an option in Viet Nam, owing to the pressure on land from
the increasing human population and the need to reforest large areas that
were over-exploited in colonial times and destroyed during the war of reunification.
Putting emphasis on dual purpose production of milk and meat creates the
need for more intensive management which is incompatible with uncontrolled
grazing. Stressing the role
of tree foliage as the preferred feed for goats could act as a stimulus
to reforestation with multipurpose trees and shrubs, with obvious benefits
to the environment.